Finally, the Aussies have a real pair...
The land Down Under has turned to Mopars for police work, specifically two modern Dodge Charger Pursuits. Such American cars are a rare sight in the land of kangaroos and boomerangs, kind of like seeing a police BMW 5 Series in the States. Both Mopars are reportedly being put in service in Queensland, although it’s not clear exactly how the Dodges will be used.
Watch a Dodge Charger Pursuit drag race a Hellcat Redeye here.
Sadly, both Charger Pursuits come with the Pentastar V6 instead of a burly Hemi V8. That’s disappointing but not surprising, considering the Australian government has done all it can to choke out its own muscle cars in a quest to rid the island of toxic masculinity.
One of the Dodge police cars has all-wheel drive, which will come in handy when those notorious Queensland snow storms strike, which absolutely cripples Brisbane, allowing criminals with Land Rover Defenders to rule the capital unchecked. That’s complete sarcasm, before anyone tries giving a lesson on Queensland climate, etc.
Before the cars were delivered, both were converted to the correct right-hand-drive configuration, not the incorrect left-hand-drive layout they have when rolling off the factory line, silly Americans and Canadians. That work was done by SCD Remanufactured, which also disclosed a basic rear-wheel-drive V6 Charger runs about $100,000 AUD, if you can believe that.
A good portion of that price is the right-hand-drive configuration. SCD apparently puts in about 200 manhours to convert one car, which sounds bollocks (is that the right word?). That’s especially funny considering people import JDM cars here and proudly drive on the right side, even shifting with their (gasp) left hand. Considering modern Chargers only come with automatics, we can see how Australian cops can’t be expected to put them into Drive using their right hand, placing the entire public at risk of assonating all their consonants.
For this reason, there are people who think importing foreign vehicles for police work in Australia is crazy. Instead, they believe the government should use domestic-manufactured models like the Kia Stinger or Toyota Camrys, because these days that’s as close as it gets to an Aussie car. Sad.
Source: Car Expert
